WNBA experiencing staggering ratings nosedive amid Caitlin Clark injury

Nobody who follows women's basketball (or American sports as a whole) can deny that Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is a sort of superstar that has never been seen in the WNBA before. This is proved by endless metrics that can be used to assess star power, such as merchandise sales, in-person attendance, and television ratings.

Of course, Clark is currently out with a left quad strain, which, as one could imagine, is negatively impacting ratings.

In a June 10 X post, Colin Salao of Front Office Sports wrote, "1.92 million viewers for the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game Saturday on CBS, a game Caitlin Clark missed due to injury. It's the third most-watched WNBA game of 2025, behind the Fever vs. Sky opener (2.7M, ABC) and Fever vs. Liberty (2.2M, CBS)."

This paints a somewhat optimistic picture about the league (and the Fever) maintaining interest with Clark sidelined. The reality — at least according to a June 11 article from USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt — conveys a bleaker reality.

"The league's TV ratings have declined with Clark sidelined," Zillgitt wrote. He then added, "Nationally televised WNBA viewership is down 55% since her injury, according to Nielsen.

"Fever national TV games are down 53% since Clark's injury – 1,810,000 average viewers before her injury and 847,000 viewers since her injury for Fever national TV games."